Anatomy advice

1
My life is a little crazy I have four children, I'm taking 14 credit hours and working two part-time jobs. All I do right now in my free time and study for anatomy. I just had my first Lab quiz and lecture exam I made an 89 on my lap quiz and an 85 on my lecture exam. Wow these grades are technically okay I'm really not happy with my scores. I probably study at least one hour a day sometimes two depending on my course schedule and about two hours a day on the weekends. I just feel like for the amount of studying that I'm doing I should be walking away from class with an a. Right now I'm reading my book listening to lectures, or use a dry erase marker and page protectors to help me learn the things that I need to learn I do all of the online exercises listen to MP3s and I even download podcast from other biology professors to listen to. I know I'm putting the required time in but I'm starting to wonder if I'm not studying smart enough does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Yea I'm going to save you a lot of time and useless motivation ********. If you have four children and work TWO jobs, it's going to be IMPOSSIBLE for you to do the nursing program if that is your major. You do realize that in addition to nursing classes, you have clinicals which lasts a solid eight hours excluding driving time to get to your hospital site? If you're serious about nursing, you need to find a way to free up your time because nursing is four days a week and in the weekends, you're studying for Monday.

Grades like the ones you have so far really worried me when I was in school. While an 85 and 89 are solid passing grades, unfortunately they're close enough on the border if you really bomb a test you might find yourself in jeopardy. You don't need that stress.

Whenever I was unhappy with my performance, I sought help from the instructor. I didn't join study groups, or listen to anyone else's lectures. I went straight to the source for help with the material specific to what I needed to pass the class. Most of the time, I was able to get one on one help.

I recommend NOT listening to others lectures because they might add in different details that your professor will not add in your class. Then you are wasting time studying material you won't even be tested on. I recommend flash cards, rewriting notes in outline form, and like proud nurse said above, seek out your professor for extra help. My A & P professor has open labs every Friday where we can come and study models, work on homework, or ask for her help explaining different things. See if your professor or college offers that.

Your scores really aren't bad at all! I am currently in the nursing program, and we had to take A&PI and A&PII. In A&PI I got an A, but in the other I had a solid B. I remember complaining to my lab instructor that I was used to getting all A's, and that this B was really upsetting me. The words he said I will never forget because they're very true. He said, "What really upsets me about what you just said is that you should be learning for the knowledge alone. I know your program is competitive, but getting a high B is something to be proud of. If you walk out of this class feeling like you learned something, then we've done our job as teachers, and you should feel accomplished." These are the words I give to you. Don't be too hard on yourself. I also don't encourage the podcasts. If you're a visual learner, make sure you study lots of diagrams and models in lab, and follow that by hand-copying your notes and make flashcards. If you're more of a read/write learner like I am, just read the material over and over. It may sound crazy to keep reading those long chapters over and over again, but soon you'll notice that you understand it and you will make sense of it. I hope this helps, and good luck!

Yea I'm going to save you a lot of time and useless motivation ********. If you have four children and work TWO jobs, it's going to be IMPOSSIBLE for you to do the nursing program if that is your major. You do realize that in addition to nursing classes, you have clinicals which lasts a solid eight hours excluding driving time to get to your hospital site? If you're serious about nursing, you need to find a way to free up your time because nursing is four days a week and in the weekends, you're studying for Monday.

Ansumana I'm well aware of the sacrifices that need to be made for nursing school. My school doesn't offers student loans and my husband makes $11/hr so working is something that has to be done right now. As far as work goes I'm a wedding photographer which requires me to be gone on Saturdays and my other job is in home health. I work from 8p-8a and am blessed enough to be able to sleep while my client does! I'm doing what I have to do right now and will deal with the rest in August when nursing school starts. Hopefully my husband will be out of school by then.

I went to my instructor yesterday, he told me that it's nearly impossible to get an a on his exams. He said I still had time to make an A but if I left his class with a b I should be pleased. He suggested not changing anything right now since we just had our first quiz and exam. I have another quiz today so we will see. This class just puts me into a state of panic because of thte amount of material we have to learn in a short period

I'm with the other on listening to other lectures. It really helped me if I could teach the material to someone else. Is there someone in class you can get this to take turn "teaching" the processes to them?

Well it's good you at least met with him. It shows your initiative. I need an A in my A & P class so it will replace the crummy grade I got before so I understand how badly you want an A. RubySlippers06 has a good idea, and I would take it a step further by maybe saying get a study partner or study group for once a week. It might help if you hear other people explain it or you are the one explaining the material.